He liked a lot of things about it and now will wait to see if the film tells him differently.

He likes that his players enjoy ball and practicing the right way. That the effort they extend is critically important to a bottom line.

“I’ve seen all these little things, and now we’ll get the opportunity to watch the film and see where we are football-wise,” UNLV coach Dan Mullen said. “But overall, I’m pretty pleased.”

The Rebels on Saturday held the first of three spring scrimmages, tussling back and forth for more than two hours in front of a gathering of season-ticket holders.

It was a day that saw the defense start slowly and somewhat come into its own near the end. A day when Mullen had a lot of good things to say and yet one desire.

“We have to pick up our pace,” he said. “I just think we’re slow, to be honest with you. I’d like the tempo to pick up a little bit more. There is a lot of learning going on — coaches (with headsets on), the communication in and out of a huddle, getting the plays called to the offense and defense.

“That’s the first time we’ve done all that in a game situation. As a team, that will continue to improve.”

Most eyes, as you would expect, gravitated towards the quarterbacks, specifically transfers Anthony Colandrea and Alex Orji.

Each had their moments. Each some good and bad.

Mullen at this point said he just wants to see the pair lead, that there’s a ton of development going on, still so much in the learning stage of things. That he wants to put them in different situations to see how they react.

How are they handling each decision they make?

“I’m for winners,” Mullen said. “You have to embrace your personality. They’re both tremendous leaders, but they lead in their own way. They don’t try to be something they’re not. Our job is to put them in position to do what they do well and let their personalities take over. I think we’re seeing that.

“It wasn’t a big scheme day on either side of the ball. Let’s just go play fast and do simple things and let guys rock and roll and go play. We settled down, I think, and became better at getting off blocks and making plays.”

He wants a physical run game. Wants what appears to be a collection of talented running backs to forge their way ahead and play off contact.

No spring game

“The offensive line is growing, which is great,” Mullen said. “We have some really good running backs who can hit the home run and also get extra yards. That’s going to be critical for us.”

There is a trend nationally that college teams will now forgo annual spring games. One reason: Coaches aren’t as inclined to give opposing teams an opportunity to scout their players in this transfer portal existence.

There is no room, they believe, for such a competitive advantage.

The Rebels won’t be holding a spring game at Allegiant Stadium this year. Instead, UNLV will scrimmage again Friday and then conclude spring drills with a scrimmage April 26.

“It goes back and forth on having (a spring game or not),” Mullen said. “I could sit here and give you a dissertation on both sides of it. I could argue the pluses and minuses of both sides. So to me, however it rolls, we just roll with it.”

Contact Ed Graney at [email protected]. Follow @edgraney on X.